Month: September 2015

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Deal 388: A New Man.

Today I feel like a new man.

I can’t point to any single reason, I just woke up feeling like the world was a better place, and I was better for it.

Which is odd. Because I am reasonably sure I am not a man.

But today is a new day, and failure is not an option. New man. New day. Time to go get that sale, the big fish, the one that keeps getting away.

And yet, sales? Really?

None of that negativity. I am reborn and not to fail. And certainly not to do anything without a plan. So it is shoes, then shirts, then sealing wax, then cabbages and kings. Or is it. Am I getting confused? Where is my plan?

Nope. Not going there. Staying off that beach, staying away from large tusked mammals, staying away from tradesmen.

I am reborn. Time to start the day, skip the failure, attack at dawn with a plan that can’t be beat, and avoid the pageant like a plague.

I am a man this time, right?

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Deal 387: A future, told.

He lumbered over and sat down at my table, over two hundred pounds of him. All muscle. We sat in silence for a minute, then he broke the tension. “Well?”

“Deep subject.” I said. I knew the moment I said it that it was the wrong thing to say. But it got a hint of a grin out of him. Maybe this was going to go ok. “Ask a question.”

“You can’t divine my question?”

“No, only an answer. Which, lately, might be the answer to the question you should have asked, rather than the question you ask. But you have to ask a question.”

“Why?” He sounded actually puzzled more than annoyed.

“To prevent this power from getting loose.” Much more of this sort of thing and he was going to be annoyed, however.

He sighed, then asked: “What does my future hold?”

“Breathe. Relax. Let me find my way to an answer.”

That had been exactly the question I was afraid he’d ask. Simple and direct, yet exactly the sort of question that my power likes to indulge. I closed my eyes for a minute to let my other sense soak in what they could. Then I shuddered.

“You aren’t going to want to hear this. I’m not the sort of psychic that can sugar coat things. If I see it, I have to say it, but I am allowed occasionally to give a warning. You aren’t going to want to hear this.”

He looked at me strangely. “I think I can handle it. What does my future hold.”

“Not much. I see very little to hope for. Your vision problem…”

He started to turn pale.

“…is only going to get worse. You hope for a lot of things. A cure. Love. Happiness. Success for your brewery. All of those things could be in your grasp, except that without your vision you are almost certainly doomed to a hopeless and blind fate of bitter hatred for all things, and doomed to die alone. And sober.”

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Deal 386: Movement within the crowd

Watching her move through the crowd, there was no doubt that she had spent a lifetime studying movement. Every motion from the smallest gesture to the largest step or turn was deliberate, purposeful, and exactly the least movement required to accomplish a goal. From where I sat watching people go by, she stood out from the usual passerby as if she had a spotlight following her through the crowd. No one else noticed her.

Before I’d spotted her, I would not have described most occupants of the square as anything other than ordinary. The townsfolk ranged from simple to dangerously clever as they do everywhere I’ve traveled, with a similar range of looks and physique. They were ordinary enough that my companion was bored and had even stopped pestering me with his witty remarks that only I could hear.

Then she walked by, and even my companion perked up.

She was not by any stretch beautiful. In fact, if spotted when standing still, you might not have given her a second glance. Until she moved, that is. Then, by comparison, the crowd around her was made up of clods, oafs, and trolls that barely were able to stand upright without help. She was older, but not elderly. She was neither tall nor short, and neither too heavy nor too thin. Standing still, she was just, there. Bland. Uninteresting.

I had to know. It was going to drive me mad otherwise. And clearly my wooden companion felt the same way.

I approached her, and said “Excuse me.” She stopped and turned towards me in a simple display of perfect minimalism. But there was a hint in her posture that she was also prepared for anything from bolting from danger to dancing with an opportunity. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m passing through town, but I haven’t seen any hint here of your training until now.”

She didn’t sink into a curtsey, bow, or even nod in acknowledgement. But she did raise a single eyebrow, questioningly. And damn. Even that simple motion had more intent behind it than I’ve seen from well trained mimes. She didn’t speak.

“Please indulge my curiosity, but where were you trained to move like that?”

She smiled. My companion was going nuts in his bag. I calmly latched it so he wouldn’t jump out and scare her away.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me, you might be surprised what I am prepared to believe.”

She seemed to consider it for a moment, then clearly came to a decision. Her whole body language shifted at that moment of decision from impatience with the interruption to anticipation of my future confusion.

“Would you believe I spent decade each living as a bird and an elephant.”

Something about the challenge implicit in how she held herself told me that she was telling me the absolute truth as she knew it, but likely not the whole truth.

“You know, I actually believe you. But there is more to the story. You are leaving out at least a decade as serpent, and another as a killer whale.”

This time, she registered surprise before she got it under control…

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Deal 385: George 3

Most of the time, I get to live in the present. Once in a while I am forced to consider the future, usually when some part of my past returns to haunt me.

Raven’s visit was one of those times. I don’t know how old Raven is, really. He was old when I was younger, and I don’t know exactly how old I am. I am older than I look. I attribute that to not dwelling in the past, or worrying too much about the future. Tina is another, like Raven, who is far older than I. I first noticed her when she was establishing legends that coupled her forevermore with the fate of a people. She taught them to use the olive tree. They named an empire after her. I heard her stories, and aspired to be like her. I sought her out, earned her trust, and have enjoyed her protection over many mortal lifetimes.

Although I’ve never noticed Raven and Tina working together, it certainly is plausible that they would. Naturally, I’ll verify everything Raven asked me to do with her before I trust him very far at all. But at first glance, I see no reason not to simply take his requests as information received and look into it a bit myself. His immediate goal of protecting the aquarium certainly fits both what we’ve been up to lately, and my own tendencies.

It’s not too late in the day to scout around a bit. Traditionally, a dog might be involved, but after years of working with the larger cats, I’ve found that dogs aren’t comfortable working with me. They still understand me, and will generally respond if asked directly for help, but it works best if I plan my work without canine assistance.

I could call on Michel for a second set of eyes, not to mention his usually useful second sight. And later that might even be wise. But I’m eager to check things out first. On the same note, I could try to call Tina. But that isn’t successful often enough in the best of times.

So with a quiet word to the crowd, I make my way off towards the waterfront. Given the big cat at my side, I feel safe. Who’d want a big cat on their tale, after all?

Besides, its not like we are likely to find a bomb on this outing…

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Deal 384: George 2

I had some time to prepare the menagerie before our guest arrived, so they were warned to be on their best behavior, and to not take offense at anything said, if at all possible. I had my fingers crossed. My menagerie and our expected guest have not always got on so well in the past.

True to his word, he showed up at my door.

Somewhat unexpectedly, he arrived in his most natural form. He had apparently not bothered to find an alternative to wear in this time and place. If my neighbors noticed him arrive, they likely would not have seen anything too unusual, so the choice might have made sense.

“Hello, Raven, I trust you had a good flight in.” My favorite tactic for dealing with a trickster: defuse their opening joke.

“… and boy are my wings tired. Yeah, I get it. Your home, your rules.” Unusually, he didn’t seem disposed to argue. “But seriously, it was a long flight in. There must be something here suitable for an old bird, if you’d be so kind.”

I nodded at one of the cats, they glared at a monkey, and various others slipped off in the direction of the kitchen to scare something up. I wasn’t too worried, they knew who we were facing, and that there was little in the world that could cause actual harm to him.

A brief flurry of activity produced some water, some meat, and some grain. Raven set to with gusto, and his usual complete abandonment of table manners.

After he’d emptied the first round of dishes, we settled down for some serious negotiation.

Knowing the old bird’s tastes, the head cat had already arranged for flagons of strong dark beer to be waiting for us as we assumed our seats.

“I suppose you are wondering why I’m here,” the bird began.

“I may have some inkling, since others have been nosing around.”

He stuck his whole head into his flagon. It came out dry, and the level had dropped considerably.

“Has Tina been here then?”

“I don’t know if I can talk about her without incurring her wrath. I don’t like to incur wrath. So I will neither confirm nor deny that Tina has been around, specifically looking for help with a project.”

“What about the ball-gazer, that old fraud?”

“Wander up the stairs and see for yourself.”

“Nah, I’ll go visit him later. As for Tina, she and I are working together. I know you won’t believe me without hearing it from her directly, but you are also honest enough to listen and ask her later. I won’t ask you to betray any confidences.”

“Which I can’t do in any case. You know that.”

“Of course. But before we get there, we need more beer. Perhaps a larger flagon?”

New Spread: Less is More

All of the spreads we’ve used to date have involved adding information from each card dealt. It seems like it is time to try subtraction instead. If this works out, multiplication and division must be just around the corner.

So we will consider what happens when you subtract one concept from another. Obviously not a literal subtraction. It doesn’t make much sense to try to literally remove Loyalty from Carrot. But what about Loyalty except with a Carrot? Seems like there is food for thought here, and so that seems worth exploring for a block.

We will deal four cards.

The first card dealt establishes the subject. Place it upright at the left. Each of the subsequent cards subtract something from that subject, so lay them down horizontally extending to the right.

There is no action or plot direction implicit in this layout, so the tale may be similarly inactive. Or, the subtractions could be taken in sequence, much like the successive cards of The River, and a more active tale told where the subtractions occur along the way.

Either way, remember that the primary goal here is to have fun with it and see where it leads you.